All Episodes

December 4, 2019 3 mins

Researchers have found a sea slug that incorporates pieces of algae cells into its body to live off of photosynthesis. Learn more about it in this episode of BrainStuff.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren bog Obam Here. Slugs are cool, really. These diverse
members of the class gastropoduct can boast all kinds of
superpowers depending on their species, from safely dropping their tails
when attacked to creating slimes strong enough to dangle from.

(00:23):
But a green sea slug that floats around in the
intertidal zone along the northeast coast of America has wowed
scientists with this ability. It can suck out an algae's
parts that generate energy from sunlight and incorporate those parts
into its own biology. In doing so, it becomes an
animal with the photosynthetic ability of a plant. But we

(00:46):
spoke with Debussies Bacharia, a biochemist and microbiologist at Rutgers University,
New Brunswick and senior author of a paper appearing in
Molecular Biology and Evolution about the sea slug. These slugs
look like wide blaant green leaves with snail like heads.
They're found in the shallow inlets and salt marshes along
the Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Nova Scotia,

(01:09):
and they have a life span of eight to ten months.
But Charia said this slug is really unique. It steals
the algae's plastids and then directs them without the help
of the algile nucleus. Other animals, including some corals and salamanders,
are known to incorporate algae to benefit from the algae's
ability to photosynthesize. What makes this slug unique is it

(01:32):
takes only the plastids or the very organelles that contain
chlorophyll and performed photosynthesis. The slug then uses its own
genome to keep the plastids operating within its own body
throughout the rest of its life. Figuring out how the
slug keeps these algae made solar panels functioning could lead
to innovations and developing green machines that need only sunlight

(01:54):
to generate energy, or bioproducts that could be used as biodiesel.
As a juvenile, one of these slugs will suck in
a particular species of brown algae. The structure of this
brown algae lends itself to efficient sucking since it has
no walls between the cells in its body. The slug
then digests the algae's nuclei, but stows the algae's plastids

(02:16):
in the lining of its gut. But once the slug
has thus ingested the algae's solar panels, it survives off
a photosynthesis for the remaining six to eight months of
its life. But a Charia said, the only reason the
plastid stop working is the c slug completes its life
cycle and dies. That suggests that the plastids could be
kept functioning for a long time. If this slug's ability

(02:39):
could be engineered, you could build a green machine that
runs indefinitely. Today's episode was written by Amanda Onion and
produced by Tyler clayg. Brain Stuff is production of I
Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and
lots of other long functioning topics, visit our home planet
has Stuff Works dot com and more podcasts from my

(03:00):
heart Radio see i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H

BrainStuff News

Advertise With Us

Follow Us On

Hosts And Creators

Josh Clark

Josh Clark

Jonathan Strickland

Jonathan Strickland

Ben Bowlin

Ben Bowlin

Lauren Vogelbaum

Lauren Vogelbaum

Cristen Conger

Cristen Conger

Christian Sager

Christian Sager

Show Links

AboutStore

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.